10 February, 2009

Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna: Recreating Forgotten Taste...

Coconut-Mango Pulihara

Last week of March and just a day away from 2 months summer break. Yes, it was the day before my last exam and every year we had same exam to write, Moral Science!!! I always felt that it had to be some immoral and sadist person’s way of making us kids suffer one more day in the name of exams. Yes, Moral science paper which was not at all counted in the final exam valuation. So there was no question of studying! We kids were all excited about 2 long months of sun, mangoes, ice creams and candies, meeting our cousins (more like a bunch of monkey soldiers from Ramayana), lazy afternoons, swim in a stream and late nights.

The day before last exam was also the day where our home buzzed with excitement and non-stop ringing of telephones from our cousins. “Don’t forget to pack your cricket bat and wickets”, said one cousin to my brother. “And bring along that new board games too”, screamed another cousin of mine. “Did you pack your piggy bank for Goli Sodas and ice candies? I have 58 rupees 75 paisa in my piggy bank”, I whispered to my sister in excitement. “And Amma promised that she will give us 20 rupees each when we go to Grandma’s place”, said my chuckling brother.

At last it was the day which we all were eagerly looking forward to. We were too excited to even sleep in the previous night thinking what if we overslept and no one woke us! We surprised our parents by getting up from bed without any alarm and got ready in lightening speed. After quick breakfast, we went through our list of things-to-pack, making sure that we have not left anything behind. Then the waiting game began….

Every five minutes we would look at the clock and then look out on the road for the sign of military green jeep. Our three year old brother continued to stare at the clock without batting his eyelids to make sure that the big hand in clock is moving towards 12 while the small one was at 10. Just when the clock was about to strike ten, we saw a giant green jeep coming towards our house and we would start waving both our hands, screaming at top of our voice to make sure that our uncle noticed all three devils. We never wanted to take risk as what if he at that time suffers from short-term memory loss and drives away!

Every time our uncle came to pick us and along with him were my cousins whom he had picked from their home on the way. Without giving him much time to think about the weeks of torture he will have to face, we would pressure him to take us to Ajji’s home even before he could finish his coffee made by his elder sister, making him choke on the Chakkuli’s that he was busy stuffing his mouth with. Within few minutes we would dump our bags on second rows of seats and jumped into the back of this giant of jeep that served also served as boot for carrying gunny bags filled with Areca nuts, rice and Cocoa from farm. That place was our favourite place to play cards, board games and also house-house game. A thick blanket with green and black checks was spread on a 5 feet by 5 feet boot and we six cousins sat on it spreading tiny stainless steel kitchen toys. While some pretended to be mothers, others were their husbands and kids. While the husbands and kids went to school by jumping to second and front rows of seats, mothers of the family busied themselves with cooking and gossiping! Thus the game went on till we travelled for 3 hours and at last reached our granny’s place.

Those blissful days of fun and frolic…. The days of innocence and carefree spirits… Ah! The magical world of childhood where few rupees were more precious than today’s millions of rupees!!! The simple days where drinking Goli Soda and licking the ice cream running down on your arms were the ultimate pleasures any kid ever wanted!!! The carefree days where seat belts in vehicles were unheard of and two or three wounds on knees were considered too small an issue to even look at!!! I can give up everything to live those days again!

As the nostalgia hits me hard again, I try to loosen the knots of my memories to weave the beautiful days of my childhood… While my mind is busily knitting the colourful days, my hands pick up the ingredients to create a long forgotten recipe from my grand ma’s kitchen. While my mind pictures the retro coloured visuals of one of my favourite childhood favourites, my taste buds, along with my nose join my fingers in typing a familiar name quickly on Google search. And voila, with in few minutes I come across this recipe which very much sounds and looks like the one I have in my mind. Thanks to Mika, I was able to recreate the taste from my childhood which I had thought was buried with the death of my grandma. I found the same taste and aroma of my Ajji’s Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna in Mika’s recipe for Mango Rice and it was indeed as refreshing and tantalising as I remembered it to be.

Coconut-Mango Pulihara

Sweet Coconut, sour mangoes, spicy green chillies and pungent mustards, a flavour sensation in true sense! Crunch from the Tadka and peanuts is just added bonus to this unbelievably simple and delicious Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna. Only thing I missed was the small bowl prepared using banana leaves that would fit nicely between our small hands. My granny made these parcels of Coconut-Mango Pulihara in fresh banana leaves tied with threads made using banana stems and put it in a basket made using thick base leaves of areca nut plants along with small bowls made using banana leaves whenever we kids left for our trip to nearby ponds or hills. Can you think of any other better way of saving mother earth and better bio-degradable bags and plates? The heavenly smell of coconut-mango-chilli-mustard mixed with fresh smelling banana leaves is something I will never be able to put it into words. It is something that one has to experience to know exactly what I mean! If you are lucky enough to get some fresh, sour mangoes make it at once and experience the true flavour of simple ingredients. And if you are really-really lucky enough to get fresh banana leaves, just serve this warm Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna in it to take a small trip to heaven!

Cook rice using 1:2 ratios of rice and water. Once cooked, separate each grain with a help of fork and keep it aside to cool. The best rice is usually the leftovers from previous day’s dinner or lunch.Take coconut pieces, mango pieces and green chillies in a food processor or mixer and pulse it to get roughly ground paste without adding any water. You should get bits and pieces of coconut, mangoes and chilli when you eat this rice. Keep this mixture aside.Heat oil or ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add channa dal, urad dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves and hing. Sauté till dals turn golden brown.Mix in ground coconut-mango-green chilli mixture, mustard powder, turmeric powder and sugar and give it a good toss for 2-3 mins and switch off the flame. Remember not to over cook this ground mixture as you want to retain the raw sour taste of mangoes. Add lime or lemon juice, if using, and salt to taste and mix well.Mix in cooked rice and toasted peanuts or cashews and give it a good toss so that every grain of rice is coated well with ground mixture. Serve this delicious Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna hot as it is or with yogurt or any raita and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

By any chance had u ever been to Kumbh mela?The one famous for separating the siblings from each other??No just asking coz,in my latest post ,me too freaked out on childhood memories and after reading your posts,i feel a sort of connectivity between ur thoughts and mine,and hence the question of BICHRI HUI BEHNE !LolzLoved the fond memories of urs,loved the recipe and loved the pics as usual :-)

You had lot of fun with our cousins in your grandmothers place.I love the way your younger bro was staring to the clock.I was a moms child so when my sisters went to my granmothers place , i stayed back at home with mom as i didn't like to go any where without her.

wow!!, first time to your blog. I'm speechless, everything in your blog is good.., the stories behind each recipes, the pictures & the recipes are awesomeKeep it up. I'm truly inspired by your way of presenting recipes.

Love your recipe blogs and the way you give credit where it is due! Beautiful childhood storeis that made me feel nostalgic for my own! Thank you for your awesome photos and detailed recipes with exact measurements to re-produce the exact same taste in our own kitchen! I am not a Recipe Blog fan, considering how many repeat the same recipes with just a minor change to call it their own, with no imagination or creativity. Some of these recipes I tried, did not turn out as tasty as my mother's though, it was claimed as their grandma's or mother's and mother-in law's! Love your original ideas....thanks for a great blog and the effort you put into it!

Namaste! I am Sia and welcome to Monsoon Spice, my virtual home. Thank you for all your comments, inputs and feedback. I really appreciate the valuable time you spent browsing through my recipe repertoire.

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About Sia

Born in India and raised in fun and food loving family, I currently reside in UK with my better half and my two babies, five years old son and nine years old food blog. My cooking style has strong root in Indian culture and at the same time embraces the world cuisine with equal passion. With never ending love for food, spice and life, I am passionate about cooking and making Indian food less intimidating, healthy and easy to cook which reflects in my blog Monsoon Spice which has been ranked one among Top Indian food blogs. Read more…

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